


gone but not forgotten

by Toe



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen, Memory Loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-20 23:46:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6030253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toe/pseuds/Toe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Diverges after Weirdmageddon. Stan's memories take a little longer to come back. Lots of sad with a little hope.</p>
            </blockquote>





	gone but not forgotten

Dipper didn't cry. Mabel had that covered well enough for the both of them, her shoulders shaking and her pillow gripped tightly in her arms. Her sweater was pulled up over her face and there was a large wet spot where her face should be that only spread as the minutes passed. That was enough sadness for the both of them.

Dipper wouldn't cry. Instead, he would solve this, because somewhere in his adventures, something he had read in the journals, someone he had spoken to had to have a solution, there had to be a way to reverse what had happened. Instead he paced in front of the window, mentally compiling lists and cross-referencing and discarding possibility after possibility because there had to be a solution somewhere, because he wouldn't let there be a problem that he couldn't overcome by using his brain.

 

"Hey, Stan," Ford said quietly. The two were parked in front of the TV, Stan laughing as he watched some old rerun of a kids show and Ford watching him as he watched, hoping beyond hope that something would click, that the pieces might fall back into place on their own, that he hadn't destroyed his brother with his mistakes.

But the damage had been done and Ford would be forever indebted. There wasn't even an adequate way to make it up to him. There was at least a place to start, though, something Ford knew Stan would appreciate.

"You need something? I sure hope it's not orange juice, because I just chugged the last half-gallon we had."

"Thank you."

There was a change in Stan's face, something inscrutable, and for a moment Ford's heart fluttered as he wondered if his words might have had some sort of effect. "Yeah, sure. You weirdo."

 

"Look, big guy, I'd understand you a lot better if you weren't blubbering," Stan said.

"Sorry, Mr. Pines," Soos managed, wiping at his face with his forearm. "I can start over."

Wendy walked up and placed a hand on Soos's shoulder. "I'll take care of this. You go cover the counter."

Soos nodded and tottered off to cover her post.

"Alright, listen Mr. Pines. In here, we've got a bunch of weird monkey mermaids. Out there are a bunch of losers with cash. Your job is to use the monkey mermaids to get the cash. Think you can handle that?"

"How hard can it be?"

"Here's a customer now. Go give it a shot," Wendy said, shoving her boss harder than she would have dared if he still had all of his memories.

Wendy wandered over to Soos as Stan began his spiel with all the bluster of someone who actually knew what they were talking about. "Look at that," she said, forcing humor into her voice. "He's a natural."

Soos gave her a watery smile. "Same old Mr. Pines."

 

Dipper and Mabel hadn't wanted a party. It didn't feel right to celebrate when they couldn't share it with their gruncle. But the town had come in, a militant force armed with cakes and gifts and confetti, and the twins hadn't been able to refuse.

"You had better open these presents. I broke a nail wrapping them," Pacifica said, waving her hands around to show them the damage.

"Thanks, Pacifica," Dipper said as Mabel grabbed the gifts.

"No, listen," Pacifica hissed, grabbing an ear from each of them. "You're not going to say thanks Pacifica with those dumb looks on your dumb faces. You're going to open these presents and you're going to love them and you're going to be happy because you saved the town and it's your birthday and I'm telling you to be."

Mabel dropped the gift and gave Pacifica a hug. Though she was started, after a moment, Pacifica returned the hug.

 

Mabel asked her party guests to sign her scrapbook. She also asked that they leave a message of thanks to gruncle Stan.

 

It was a nightmare getting the kids to leave. Ford knew they had to go home, but it felt to him like he was letting some key piece to getting his brother back slip through his fingers, like when they left, they were taking all of his hope with him.

It had probably been a dumb move to bring Stan along to the bus stop. He knew the vacant look in his brother's eyes and the way he forgot their names destroyed the kids, but it felt like his last chance, like if he let Stan stay home without saying goodbye to the kids, he would be giving up

Maybe giving up would have saved them all some trouble.

"Lets go," Ford said, turning away from the bus as it pulled away, willing himself not to look at the tear stains on his brother's suit.

Stan, though, stared at the bus transfixed until it became nothing more than a dot in the distance and disappeared into the horizon. "Dipper and Mabel," he muttered under his breath, though he wasn't quite sure why.

 

Ford had urged her not to, but Mabel left her scrapbook behind at the Mystery Shack, waiting beneath Stan's pillow.


End file.
